The First of Many
by Mrs Bella Riddle
Summary: Tom was never someone who tolerated any alterations to his plans, but, as he stared down at the dead body of Myrtle Howard, he was not annoyed. He was only pleased at the first real demonstration of his power.


This is written for Round Three of Fanfiction Idol which had to involve a first.

Enjoy

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It was not meant to have happened like this. He was better than this. This situation felt like he was just an unimportant boy whose first time was not crucial or critical, but irrelevant. Despite that he was not annoyed. Normally any alteration to his planned would have frustrated him immensely.

It was not the case.

The light from the candles in the brass brackets lining the bathroom walls played off his pale skin and high cheekbones as he stood as still as a statute. His face was like marble; perfectly crafted and icy without an inch of emotion visible.

Only his hand moved. The pallor of his long fingers contrasted with the coarse dark green scales of the monstrous creature beside him as he idly caressed the snake in a way that was gentler than any way he had treated a human. The creature was nearly fifty feet in length with most of its body curled around itself or still trailing down into the large tunnel where the sinks should have been. Most would be terrified of such a creature.

Tom was not.

It was not even due to his arrogance. He knew he could not be harmed by the serpent.

Having linked his Parseltongue skill and his families past to the Slytherin line, he knew he was the Heir of the illustrious Salazar Slytherin. After his discovery he had been obsessed with discovering his birth right; the Chamber of Secrets. It had taken him years of searching, but he had eventually been successful and he had descended into the bowels of the chamber. Admittedly he had been apprehensive about meeting the basilisk, but it had been a pointless emotion as the creature was nothing but affectionate towards its true master and it could not hurt him even if he tried.

It could hurt others.

It had.

He had vowed to complete his ancestor's noble quest. Mudbloods tainted the halls of his beloved Hogwarts and they needed to be eliminated. His basilisk had been set upon numerous worthy victims, but they had only been petrified. Time and time again he tried to rectify that mistake. Tonight was meant to be that occasion.

It had been.

Just not in the way he had expected.

Charlotte Carter had been his intended target. Not only was she a filthy mudblood, but she was Head Girl. She was the perfect example of how mudbloods had unjustly seized power and how their influence should be curtailed. His motivation was increased after she attempted to kiss him at a Slug Club meeting a few weeks ago. It had sickened and incensed him.

His plan had been perfect. His attack had been a perfect distance away from her disgusting attempt, so he would not be suspected, yet his anger could still be satiated. He had snuck into the chamber and risen out of it all according to plan.

Everything had gone wrong after that.

He had hissed orders to his precious pet about where she could find Carter when a bathroom stall had opened. Immediately he had reacted.

"Kill it," he had hissed coolly without any of the emotion or reservations that any normal human would have towards murder.

The serpent had slithered out of the pipe and, before the girl could look at anything else, she had stared into big yellow eyes. It had not been dramatic, messy or ugly. She had merely crumpled like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

She had not moved since then and Tom had not moved his eyes.

Still caressing his serpent, Tom's eyes swept over the girl. She had fallen face first. The back of her Hogwarts robes sprawled around her and her brown hair was pulled into two messy ponytails that trailed in puddles of water. One of her arms was trapped underneath her and the other was sticking out at an odd angle. She had not attempted to support herself. She must have been dead before she even hit the floor.

Nothing showed on Tom's face, but his heart raced quickly. It was not painful. It was a little overwhelming, yet still strangely pleasant.

This had been his work. He had been able to end another's life with ease.

It was power.

For the first time, Tom's lips curled upwards in a smile. It was not a comforting expression. It was unnatural like a painted clown; haunting and fake.

His feet moved on their own accord, each step echoing in the otherwise silent bathroom. His gaze did not lift from the girl as he stopped in front of her. It was fascinating watching the corpse. She may not have been his target, but she was evidence on his power. His knees half bent to kneel before he stopped himself.

He should not touch the body.

Instead he slid his pale wand from his robes and silently cast a levitation charm on her. The corpse lifted into the air. Its arms and legs dangled in a way that would not happen if the mudblood was alive. Under Tom's orders it turned so its shoes only scraped the ground and Tom was staring into its face.

If Tom had not meticulously researched the identity of a large majority of the mudbloods at Hogwarts he might not have recognised who she was, but, since he had, he could surmise her identity. She wore thick dark glasses and had an unappealing fringe neither of which did anything to hide the acne that dotted her face. All of which market her as Myrtle Howard a Ravenclaw a year below him. She was ugly, dull, shy, foolish and unimportant.

He forgot all of that as he stared at his victim. Now she was his first victim and that made her important. She was the first to truly understand his abilities.

Soon more would.


End file.
